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Europe just made a huge Mars decision

The European Space Agency has a major failure with the Schiaparelli crash, but they have their eyes set on 2020.

The European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander smashed into the surface of Mars back in October, prompting many to wonder about what the future would be for future ESA Mars projects. However, experts at the agency are undeterred, and ESA plans to back the new Mars mission despite the risks exposed by the most recent one.

European Space Agency members states approved 450 million euros in funding for the ExoMars mission, as well as a bunch of other missions related to the International Space Station. It is a strong show of support for the mission to Mars despite the devastating failure of the Schiaparelli probe, which has been chalked up to a software failure that told the spacecraft it was much closer to the surface than it actually was, prompting it to start the landing phase when it was far too early to do so.

ESA still plans to send a rover to the Red Planet in 2020, although the crash will make things a bit more risky. However, experts are confident in the success of the program, and believe a delay is just not an option to be considered.